Our Love Is A Duet
by AllzStar
Summary: I never knew Craig Tucker could be so sensitive. But then he said, "Sing. Just sing. Like no one is listening." And I knew he'd invited me to his own little world. CraigXOC.
1. Hello

**Our Love Is A Duet**

_By AllzStar_

_Author's Note: Well, I have recently taken an unexplained liking to Craig, and after playing several duets BY MYSELF on the piano, this idea came to me. So basically, each chapter will be based on a duet song that I love, and I suggest you listen to the song on youtube or something so that you can get the right atmosphere. I listen to every song while writing each chapter._

_**Chapter One – Hello**_

_I've been alone with you inside my mind / And in my dreams I've kissed your lips a thousand times / I sometimes see you pass outside my door / Hello / Is it me you're looking for? / I can see it in your eyes / I can see it in your smile / You're all I've ever wanted, and my arms are open wide / 'Cause you know just what to say / And you know just what to do / And I want to tell you so much / I love you ..._

_- "Hello" by Lea Michelle and Jonathan Groff (GLEE Version) - _

The keys were so familiar, so comforting, under her fingers as she struck each key lightly, tinkering out the sweet melody of her favourite song. Her voice was clear and soft as she sang the words quietly. It was a duet, but she sang both parts anyway, accompanying herself on the piano. It sounded lovely just by herself, but it was still missing something—the male counterpart, the tenor voice meant to sweep underneath her voice, carrying it and lifting it and supporting it.

That was where Craig came in.

He'd taken an interest to Kate James about a month ago, when he'd overheard her playing that same piano and singing a Sarah MacLauchlan song. He soon discovered that she was at that piano in the back of the band room every day after school for two hours, just playing and singing like no one was listening. And no one was, until Craig heard her. Then he was almost always there, just outside the door, listening.

Most people wouldn't have considered Craig Tucker to be "musically inclined"—but they probably didn't know that he did what Kate did at home: locked in his room with his old acoustic guitar. Just playing and singing softly and learning and experimenting, discovering his style and what he could do. Most people probably didn't know Kate James was musically inclined either. She wasn't enrolled in a band class. It was as if she, like Craig, was hiding her talents, preferring to keep them to herself. It was a modest action, but Craig knew it was because she was just too shy to show anyone, to perform. Craig just didn't give a damn to show anyone. She was afraid to.

He thought he could help them both.

Kate had moved to South Park when everyone was still in middle school; now that they were all in their junior year the teens of South Park didn't really consider her to be "new" anymore, but she'd never really managed to fit in. She was quiet and mysterious—like Craig, only nobody considered her dangerous. Craig wasn't dangerous either; people just thought he was because he'd punched more than a few people more than a few times. He didn't mind the reputation—that was why he kept his music a secret.

Craig Tucker was currently sitting outside the band room, his back against the cinderblock wall, his elbows on his knees. He tilted his head back against the wall and closed his eyes, listening to Kate's sweet voice as she awkwardly sang both parts of the lovely duet. He recognized it vaguely, but he couldn't put a name to it. He knew some of the words, at least. Before he knew it he was singing the male part along with her, just singing in the hallway. There was no one around to hear him, but still. Weak.

Craig caught himself soon enough and stopped, snapping his head up and shaking it. He pulled his old blue chullo off his head and rumpled his floppy black hair, letting it fall in his eyes and around his ears. He pulled on his white t-shirt, trying to circulate the air along his skin. The heating system was seriously fucked up in this school. It was always either way too cold or way to hot.

He froze when he heard the music stop abruptly. He heard paper rustling, and muttered words of frustration before Kate started up again, this time much firmer than before. She was getting frustrated. Sometimes her fingers failed her and she fumbled over keys, which frustrated her to no end. Craig smirked as he listened to her try to pick it back up again.

He pushed himself up against the wall and peeked around the corner. The piano was facing him, which meant Kate's back was to him. She was playing the last verse slowly and deliberately, as if trying to prove to the piano that she _could _play the song. She was concentrating on the notes now, and her voice had died. Craig quietly entered the room and reached for the stack of music books that Mr. Reed, the band teacher, kept on a cart at the front of the room. Kate still wasn't aware of his presence, but he was about to make himself known.

He picked a song out of an 80s book and moved towards her. He waited until she'd played the last note of the song and huffed her way through closing the book and turning to put it back into her bag. When she turned she saw Craig, standing about a foot away from her, and screamed, dropping her music book to the sound-proof floor.

Neither one of them moved to pick it up. Instead, Craig advanced even further and handed her the music book he'd selected, open to the right page. She stared at it, her eyes wide with surprise and her cheeks pink with embarrassment.

"Can you play it?" Craig asked.

She looked over the music, then shrugged.

Craig gestured for her to move over so he could sit next to her on the bench. Every nerve in her body was wired; she was stiff as a board as Craig took the music book from her and set it on the stand over the keyboard. Kate made no move to start playing. Craig, who knew a little about the piano, gently took her hands and placed them over the keys that made the first chord of the song. She still didn't play. She was staring at the music, and her fingers were shaking.

"Just play," Craig encouraged, his voice husky and soft. "It's alright."

Slowly, Kate James began to play the introduction of "Hello" by Lionel Richie, her right hand fingers dancing over the keys closer to the top of the scale while her left hand played a simple chord. When the time came for the male voice to begin singing, Craig's voice came in a swooping tenor, rough and low and just plain sexy.

"_I've been alone with you inside my mind_," he sang. "_And in my dreams I've kissed your lips a thousand times. I sometimes see you pass outside my door. Hello...is it me you're looking for?_"

Kate panicked, her fingers fumbling over the keys, when she realized it was her turn to sing. She took a deep breath and held it, her eyes darting quickly to Craig's patient face before going back to the ivory keys. Her mind was racing. He was so good looking. It was the boy from her Chemistry class, the quiet one that always seemed to be deep in thought. The one who wrote song lyrics in his notebook. She'd seen them once, while passing by his desk while he was away from it. She'd read the first verse and fallen in love with his sensitive tones. But she'd never had the courage to actually talk to him...she didn't even know his name.

She started again from Craig's last line, and he joined in softly. When the time came for her to start singing with him, she did, her voice tender and quiet at first, but then building with the song.

"_I can see it in your eyes_," they sang together in perfect harmony, "_I can see it in your smile. You're all I've ever wanted, and my arms are open wide. 'Cause you know just what to say. And you know just what to do. And I want to tell you so much, I love you..._"

"_I long to see the sunlight in your hair_," sang Craig. He had to refrain from actually touching her ash blonde hair, which was swept into a messy bun at the base of her skull.

Kate sang, "_And tell you time and time again how much I care_."

Craig joined in: "_Sometimes I feel my heart will overflow. Hello, I've just got to let you know. 'Cause I wonder where you are and I wonder what you do. Are you somewhere feeling lonely, or is someone loving you? Tell me how to win your heart, for I haven't got a clue. But let me start by saying: I love you_ ..."

The song built and swelled, and soon enough both voices were rising in volume as high notes were gracefully belted and the song was brought back down to a tender quiet. The duet finished with the famous, severe line: "_But let me start by saying...I love you."_

The piano faded, and neither teen moved. They stared at the music, at that final note, those final three words. Kate felt an uncomfortable squirming in her stomach when she felt Craig's eyes on her; those eyes that she'd always admired from afar but never in this close proximity. He made her nervous. He made her scared. She wanted to believe that she didn't like him, but really it was how he made her feel that bothered her. She couldn't help it. So she'd just have to get rid of him.

She stood up and snapped the book shut, shoving into his hands. "What do you want?" she snapped, staring at the piano. She couldn't bring herself to look into his eyes.

He was looking at her curiously, a tiny, amused smile turning up the corners of his mouth. He shrugged. "I just wanted to sing with you," he said. He stood and faced her, but he was met only with her profile. "You're really good."

"I don't like it when people listen to me," she said, but the firmness was failing her. Craig could sense her discomfort, so he took his cue to leave.

"Well, it was nice singing with you," he said, backing away from the piano. "Maybe we could do it again sometime...?" It was an open-ended question, but he hoped anyway.

She shook her head, bending to pick up her fallen book and her bag, which was packed with more music books. "I don't do duets," she said.

"But you were just playing one," Craig said. "Not _Hello, _but before—that one you were singing by yourself."

Kate eyed him wearily, her muddy brown eyes finally rising to meet his. "How long were you listening to me?"

Craig's mouth twitched before he opted to tell her the truth. "I always listen to you," he said slowly. "I listen to you every day."

Her face creased into a horrified expression. "Well, don't!" she snapped. "I don't like people listening to me. You're creepy. Just leave me alone."

But she had to pass Craig to get out of the room. She clutched her satchel bag to her and passed clear of Craig, who made no move to stop her. He did, however, follow her out of the room, tossing the 80s book back onto the pile on the cart. He had one more question for her.

"What was that song called?" Craig called after her, as she was already halfway down the hallway.

She froze in her tracks and spun around, scowling at him. "_What _song?" she demanded.

"The duet you were playing by yourself, before I came in."

She stared at him in disbelief, a little crease between her brows, and then shook her head, and continued down the hall.

Craig didn't bother to stop her. He'd freaked her out enough for one day. But he couldn't help but smile at the memory of their voices, swooping and sailing over and under each-other. They had sounded really good together; that he knew all too well. She must have heard it, too. Craig realized that getting closer to her would be harder than he thought, but he was willing to keep trying. He also knew that she'd be checking to make sure he wasn't listening. She might even force the heavy door to the band room closed, which would completely muffle the sound of her voice from Craig.

When he got home, Craig opened his laptop and searched for an online music store. He found one immediately, and clicked on the big "duets" button. He cracked his knuckles and started searching.

Needless to say, his printer had a pretty good workout that night.

_Author's Note: What do you guys think so far? Personally, I love this. I've finally managed to connect to a story. I freaking love music (and Craig), so now I can incorporate both into a story. Please review; I really enjoy your feedback and advice._


	2. Falling Slowly

**Our Love Is A Duet**

_By AllzStar_

_Author's Note: I got two lovely reviews! Yay! I'm thinking that in order to get more, I have to make a real kick-ass summary to attract readers. Anyone got any ideas?_

_**Chapter Two – Falling Slowly**_

_I don't know you / but I want you / all the more for that..._

_- "Falling Slowly" by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova_

Craig figured he wouldn't be able to simply lurk about the band room anymore, as Kate was sure to be watching for him, and so he created a new tactic. Since the fact that he listened to her had creeped her out instead of flattering and intriguing her like he thought it would, he decided that confrontation might spark her curiosity. She, like Kyle Broflovski (who Craig had never really liked but decided he was a good comparison to her), always seemed to be strangely interested in anything that made her short-fused tempers flare up. Craig also realized that Kyle and Kate in the same room would be the equivalent to a nuclear bomb.

Meanwhile, Kate was nervously chewing on her pencil, anticipating the next five minutes during which she knew HE would be entering the classroom. He was always one of the stragglers. However, despite the fact that she was prepared to see him again, she nearly panicked when he actually DID walk into the classroom, looking as sexy and dishevelled as ever, his blue chullo perched on top of his messy black hair. He was with his friends, as usual; his grey eyes were downcast, as usual; and he loped to the back of the classroom to sit with his buddies, as usual. Then he did something _un_usual. He looked right at Kate, clean across the classroom, and winked at her.

She almost died of embarrassment. Her fingers, suddenly sweaty, curled around her textbook in her lap. She looked around to make sure no one else had seen. Red was looking at her from across the aisle, her eyebrows raised suggestively. Kate made a "he's a psycho" face and dropped her eyes to her desk. She didn't dare look back at him.

The teacher half-heartedly began the Chemistry class, instructing the class to open their textbooks to page one-hundred and five and answer the fifteen questions there based on the information in the previous chapter they learned. Kate set right to work, hoping the girls around her—Red, Milly, Bebe and Wendy—would leave her alone. No such luck. Red swooped down almost immediately like a vulture. "Craig Tucker?" she demanded. "You just got winked at by CRAIG TUCKER."

"Oh, is that his name?" Kate asked in a bored voice, though she really hadn't known. She looked up from her work and glanced over towards Craig and his friends; thankfully, he wasn't looking in her direction. She turned her watery brown eyes towards Red. "I didn't notice."

Red ignored the blatant lie. "Damn. He is such a FOX."

Kate made a little disinterested noise ("Hmm"), hoping Red would get the message and leave her alone so she could get her work done properly. She realized she'd written Craig instead of Chrome. Crap.

"Who's a fox?" Bebe Stevens asked, turning in her seat to look at Kate, who sat behind her.

Kate grimaced. She didn't know any of these girls very well, and here they were nosing into her business. Not that Craig was her business. He wasn't. He was just a boy. A normal, attractive, musically talented boy with a sexy, rich tenor voice and rough yet gentle hands and a really nice scented aftershave and carefree black hair and mysterious grey eyes and...

Kate shook herself, forcing her hand to write what she was supposed to be writing. She'd just written Craig's name three more times. She quickly rubbed the marks out with her eraser.

"Craig Tucker," Red answered.

Bebe rolled her eyes towards the brooding boy across the room. He was bent lithely over her work while his buddies clowned around. "I _know_," she gushed. "He's, like, never had a girlfriend, though."

"Well, I think he might have one now...am I right, Kate?" Red asked suggestively, nudging Kate in the ribs with her elbow. Kate let out a small squeak and pushed herself as far away from Red as possible. She nearly fell out of her chair; her hand hit the floor on the other side of her desk as a last attempt to keep her in her seat. The girls stared at her; even Wendy had looked over by now instead of staring at her boyfriend across the room like she usually did.

"Sorry," Kate gasped, panting for no reason. She pulled herself upright again and stared at her desk, her eyes quickly welling with tears. "Tickle spot."

After an awkward moment of silence, the girls went back to gossiping as if the incident had never happened.

"With an ass like that, he could get any girl he wanted. Even the gay guys want to tap that hot shit," Bebe was saying, ignoring Red's earlier comment about Kate.

"Can you mind what you say?" Kate asked before she could stop herself. "You might offend someone."

"Who am I offending?" Bebe asked, throwing her hands into the air and flicking her wrists. Her bangles clattered together down her forearm. "You?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact," Kate replied coolly.

"Oh, I'm _sorry,_" Bebe said sarcastically. "How did I offend you?"

"What you were saying before was inappropriate," Kate explained.

Bebe's eyes widened. "Oh, I see. You feel uncomfortable about me making comments about how everyone wants to get in your boyfriend's pants, don't you?"

"He isn't my boyfriend," Kate said, like it should be obvious. "I didn't even know his name till just now. And if he was my boyfriend, I would be hitting you in the face for what you just said instead of calmly asking you to shut your mouth before you offend me further."

Bebe scowled. Her friends were murmuring amongst each-other. Kate knew that aggravating Bebe Stevens was probably a bad idea, but she was so angry with her that she no longer cared. "_What _did I say?" Bebe demanded.

"The words you chose were offensive."

"What words? Ass? Tap? Shit? GAY?" Bebe's voice rose with each word. People were starting to glance over.

Kate nodded curtly, feeling her face flush. She looked back at her work.

Bebe's manicured hand came down on her textbook. "Are you saying that the word gay offends you?"

Kate was almost fidgeting in her seat. But now most of the kids were eavesdropping on their conversation. Kate hoped Craig hadn't looked over.

Kate just shrugged. "In that context, yes."

Bebe scoffed. "You know what I think?"

Kate glared up at her. "You think I care?" she spat.

The blonde ignored her. "I think you are a homophobe. A big, ugly, dirty homophobe. And guess what? Shit like that won't be tolerated in my presence."

Kate, who's face had gone pale rather quickly, bent her head over her work and tried to ignore the fuming blonde before her, but Bebe's hands smacked onto Kate's desk and wiped her book and notepad and pens off the table. "Listen to me, you crock of shit," Bebe spat. "If I hear one more homophobic word out of your mouth, I will personally tear your larynx out of your throat. Understand?" She sat back smugly, her mouth twisting into an evil smirk. "Or has Craig beaten me to it with his cock?" she demanded a voice that must have carried clean across the classroom.

Kate was trying very hard not to cry. Her bottom lip trembled. Her sweating hands were clutching the seat beneath her. She stared at Bebe, her eyes wide with shock and humiliation. She thought she might faint. She had done nothing to provoke the outburst, let alone the horrible comment that Bebe made last of all. All eyes were on the two girls as they stared at each-other.

Bebe reached over suddenly and yanked at the chain that Kate kept hidden under her shirt. She gasped when she felt the fine silver snap. "Aha!" Bebe cried. "I knew it. She's Catholic," she said, gesturing to the silver cross bearing a tiny figurine of Jesus on it.

"Anglican," Kate corrected coolly, reaching for the chain that now hung from Bebe's hand. Bebe only smirked and stood up, lifting her hand higher above her head. Bebe towered over Kate, who was barely five three; there was no way Kate would be able to reach it. "Give it back."

"Watch out, fags," Bebe announced to the class. "Little Miss Anglican here is gonna castrate your dicks with her sharp tongue. Better watch out next time she gives you a quickie, Craig," she added, winking at Craig, who was staring at her from across the room.

"Fuck off, Bebe," he exploded suddenly, his voice rising higher than hers.

Everyone turned to look at Craig, who had spoken up unexpectedly. "No one wants or cares about your opinion, and right now you sound more ignorant than any really homophobe. Shut the fuck up before you embarrass yourself any further."

Silence. It was the most anyone had ever heard Craig say at once, and with such force and passion. Everyone was staring at either Bebe or Craig; Kate was just glad the heat was now off of her.

After about twenty seconds of tense silence, Craig smirked his sexy, lopsided smirk, and flipped everyone off (except Kate, of course), before sitting back down and turning back to his work.

Bebe recovered quickly. She gathered her things, literally threw the chain and cross at Kate, and left in a huff, leaving a trail of flowery perfume behind her. It was a good thing the teacher had been passed out in his chair during the whole scene.

Shortly after Bebe left, Kate gathered her things and headed for the door. She barely made it over the threshold before the tears began to fall.

* * *

The whole scene in Chemistry class that afternoon had not been a part of Craig's plan, but now he knew that Kate would be less hostile if he showed up in the band room. His initial plan had been to skip out of class ten minutes early and get to the band room before Kate did. He had brought a whole bag full of all the sheet music he had printed out the night before, as well as his guitar, in hopes that they could play some music together. Now, however, he didn't think Kate would be in the mood to sing.

He still got to the band room before her after school, and waited a good ten minutes before he considered going to find her. Luckily, he didn't have to.

Kate had skipped her last period class involuntarily, as she had locked herself in the east corridor bathroom (which no one used) and cried for an hour. She held the broken chain in her hands and prayed silently as she wept, asking God to please guide her in the right direction and prevent anything like that from happening again. Her ribs burned where Red had only lightly touched her, and she prayed to God that she could forget why.

Finally, when she heard the final bell and all the students had thundered out of the halls, she opened the stall door. She went to the sink and splashed her puffy face with cold water, wiping it after with a paper towel. She stared at herself in the mirror. She looked awful. Her face was still pale except for her nose and eyes, which were red. She took her mousy ash blonde hair out of the knot at the base of her neck and let it fall around her shoulders sadly, the damaged ends fraying every which way. She sighed. Her hair had never been the same ever since she'd cut it herself with her mother's kitchen scissors.

She left the bathroom and headed towards the band room in hopes that a little music might calm her nerves.

When she entered the room however, she was shocked to see Craig was already there, sitting on a high stool with his profile to her, strumming a familiar tune and murmuring the lyrics under his breath. He looked up when she came in, smiling when he saw her just standing there, confused and afraid, her whole body tense.

"Hey," he greeted softly.

She just stared at him.

"Look," he said, gently setting his guitar down and taking a few steps towards her. "I know we got off on the wrong foot yesterday, and I wanted to make it up to you. I know you're probably not in the mood after what happened in Chem class, but I was really hoping we could sing a song or two together, just to take your mind off it." He moved towards the piano and took a small stack of paper out of his bag. "I printed off some songs for you." He held the music out towards her, waiting for her to move forward and accept it.

Kate stared at him, and suddenly her eyes welled with tears again. She bit them back, but not before Craig saw them. She moved forwards and took the music from him, and she smiled when she saw the title. "I know this song," she said, looking up at him with a shy smile.

"Then let's do this!" he said, taking her hand and pulling her towards the piano. She sat down and spread the music out before her. Craig dragged the stool over so that he was sitting next to her, reading the chords off the music that was on the piano.

The song started softly and slowly, a simple melody. Craig started to sing first. "I don't know you, but I want you...all the more for that." He smiled down at Kate, who glanced at him quickly before averting her eyes to the music. She felt a blush creep up her cheeks. She joined him in harmony for the next phrase. "Words fall through me, and always fool me, and I can't react."

Craig continued, "Games that never amount to more than they're meant will play themselves out..."

Together: "Take this sinking boat and point it home, we've still got time...raise your hopeful voice, you have a choice, you'll make it now...Falling Slowly, eyes that know me, and I can't go back. Moods that take me, and erase me, and I'm painted black."

Craig: "Well you have suffered enough, and warred with yourself, it's time that you won..."

They repeated the chorus and went into the soaring instrumental, each playing the piano and the guitar to the fullest, the sound filling the room with beautiful music. Kate was absolutely beaming with joy, and Craig was smiling because he knew he'd made her happy.

When the music ended, they stared at each-other, shy smiles all around. Craig was the first to speak. "How was that?"

Kate smiled at him, a real, full smile that made his heart flutter. "Wonderful," she said. "Great. I love that song."

"It is a good song," he agreed wistfully.

Her smile faded a little as she got up, moving to hand the music back to him. "I have to go, though," she said regretfully. "It's my...uh, brother's birthday, and I promised I'd take him to a movie."

"Aw," Craig said, taking the music. "That's nice. How old is he?"

"Five," she replied shortly. She slung her back over her shoulder and gave Craig a genuine smile. "Thanks. For everything. You know, in class today...I don't know why she said those things. They were awful. I don't know what I did to provoke that...but I hope you know I didn't say all those terrible things to her. I would never..."

Craig silenced her by taking the silver chain from around her neck, which she had tied together to keep it here. He undid the knot and slid the cross off it, then took the plain silver chain he had around his own neck and slid the cross onto it. Wordlessly, he did the new chain up around Kate's neck; her flesh crawled wherever his fingers touched her neck. He tucked the broken chain into his pocket. "Wear that for now," he said. "I'll fix your chain for you."

She gazed at him, her eyes wide. "Thank you," she whispered. She shyly turned to go, but Craig stopped her again.

"Here," he said, holding the sheet music out towards her. "You can keep this."

She shook her head. "No, you keep it," she said. "I don't have a piano at home anyway."

"Will I see you tomorrow?" Craig asked hopefully.

Slowly, she nodded, another smile breaking onto her face. Craig returned the smile, and then she was gone.

He sat at the piano, cradling his guitar in his arms, deep in thought.

Outside, Kate was walking towards the bus stop, her arms wrapped around her middle, her face alight with the widest smile she'd smiled in a very, very long time. Up in a tree, the first birds of spring began to sing.


	3. Half Of My Heart

**Our Love Is A Duet**

_By AllzStar_

_Author's Note: Can't believe I neglected this one. I love it so much! If any of you remember, in the second chapter I referred to Kate's brother as being five, but that was a mistake. He's actually two. Yay for typos! Ugh._

_**Chapter Three – Half Of My Heart**_

Although it was Spring, April brought nothing but cold, miserable weather. The sky was always either pouring rain, sleet or snow, and the snow that was already on the ground was hard and slippery and the cars skidded all over the roads. Kate made her way across the parking lot from the gym, the hems of her jeans soaked through with slush and mud. She narrowly avoided falling on her butt several times, but the last time she was not so lucky. Her boot skidded clean across the ice and she shouted shortly, anticipating the first shock of her butt hitting the ice.

It never came.

Hands grasped her under the arms and hoisted her up, setting her right and holding her there. She blinked, startled, and turned to see Craig standing inches away from her, smiling shyly. "I knew you were going to fall," he said teasingly, "as soon as I saw you."

"I knew I would, too," Kate replied, blushing as she pulled away from Craig's gloved hands. The skin under her coat burned and crawled where his hands had gripped her upper arms. "Thanks."

"No problem," he said. The two of them began walking towards the school. Opening the doors brought a lovely waft of warm air that enveloped them in a flurry of loose snow. They hurried down the hall, their wet boots slipping a little on the linoleum, and entered the band room, both flustered and shivering from the temperature change.

Kate peeled off her jacket and draped it over the back of a chair as Craig ripped off her gloves and scarf. Kate reached up and pulled the elastic out of her hair, letting it fall over her shoulders in wisps. She reached as if she were going to put it back into a ponytail, but Craig's voice stopped her. "Leave it," he said softly, shyly. "It looks good like that."

Kate stared at him, her arms frozen above her head. "What?"

He shook himself, as if he'd only just realized what he'd said. "Never mind. It was nothing." He looked away, but not before Kate saw the pinkness in his cheeks. He busied himself with taking his guitar out of its case. Kate left her hair down.

Kate approached the piano, her selected piece of the day clutched in her hand. She spread the music before her and began tinkering, getting a feel for the music. Craig joined her, tuning his guitar casually. They wasted no time in beginning the song.

Kate played the percussion line on the piano while Craig plucked out the melodic riff of John Mayer and Taylor Swift's _Half Of My Heart. _

Kate sang: "_I was born in the arms of imaginary friends...Free to roam, made a home out of everywhere I've been...Then you come crashing in, like the realest thing...Trying my best to understand all that your love can bring_."

Craig joined her for the chorus. "_Oh half of my heart's got a grip on the situation, half of my heart takes time...Half of my heart's got a right mind to tell you that I can't keep loving you, can't keep loving you...Oh, with half of my heart_."

Craig sang on his own: "_I was made to believe I'd never love somebody else...I made a plan, stay the man who can only love himself...Lonely was the song I sang, 'til the day you came...Showing me a better way and all that my love can bring_."

They repeated the chorus, and then went into the bridge: "_Your faith is strong but I can only fall short for so long...Time will hold, later on you will hate that I never gave more to you than half of my heart...But I can't stop loving you, but I can't stop loving you, but I can't stop loving you with half of my...Half of my heart, half of my heart...Half of my heart's got a real good imagination, half of my heart's got you...Half of my heart's got a right mind to tell you that half of my heart won't do...Half of my heart is a shotgun wedding to a bride with a paper ring, and half of my heart is the part of a man who's never really loved anything. Half of my heart.._."

The song faded out in a whoosh of guitar riffs and piano chords. When it ended Kate and Craig just smiled at each-other, not saying anything. Craig reached out and touched the back of his index finger to her upper arm, gently. Kate flinched and drew clean away from him, jumping up off the bench and half running across the room. She pretended to be busying herself with drawing more music out of her bag, but Craig had seen the sheer terror in her eyes when he'd touched her.

He decided not to ask, however, in order to not frighten her further. Instead he said, "Do you want to come over?"

"I'll be there in a sec," she answered, still digging around in her bag.

"No, I mean..." He took a deep breath. "Come over to my house."

She stiffened and looked at him, her eyes wide. Craig dove into an explanation. "It's just that...the piano's better there, and there's a more open space so we're not confined to this soundproof room...I was thinking maybe we could try writing our own stuff, too, and I'm not sure we'll be able to use this room after school once the jazz band starts competing in the jazz fest."

She was actually smiling, so hit bit off the rest of what he was going to say and waited for her answer. She said, "I would love to."

He sighed, relieved, but she continued, "But I can't."

His face fell. "Why not?"

"I have to take care of my brother."

"Again?"

She shrugged, smiling sheepishly. "Maybe this weekend...maybe."

"What does your mom do?" Craig asked, genuinely curious. "Why can't she look after him, like, once a week?"

Kate frowned. "It's not what you think. My mom is really busy. She can't...it's not her...no. She just doesn't have time. He's my responsibility and I've accepted that."

"Okay, okay," Craig said, holding up his hands. "Sorry. That's not what I meant. I actually wanted to know what she does."

"She's a hairdresser," Kate said, ducking her head over her backpack again. "She owns the salon in town. That's why she's never home."

"Oh," Craig said. "My mom and my sister get their hair cut there."

"Everyone gets their hair cut there," Kate said. "It's the only hair salon in town."

"Oh, yeah. Right."

"What do your parents do?"

"Um." Craig bit his lip. "I don't really know. They never talk about it."

"Weird." Kate was frowning.

"Yeah. But that's them, I guess."

Kate smiled. "Maybe they're secret agents or something."

"Ha," Craig laughed. "As if."

"Well, I've got to take off," Kate said, checking her watch. She slung her bag over her shoulder. "I'll call you later. See if we can get together this weekend."

"You'll call me?" Craig asked, a small smile creeping up his face. "You don't have my number."

"Oh." She blushed. "Right." She reached in her pocket and pulled out a pen. "Give me your arm."

Craig pushed up his sleeve and held out his arm to her. She lightly gripped his wrist and turned into him, pulling his arm around her so that she could write properly. Craig's heart raced; her back was almost touching his chest. He could smell her hair; it smelled of strawberries. Kate was just as flustered, but she wrote her number quickly and moved away from Craig, not looking at him.

"Bye!" she called as she exited the band room. The door swung shut with a thud behind her.

Craig blinked and looked down at his arm. He smirked knowingly. Kate obviously wasn't used to giving out fake numbers. There were only six digits. 


End file.
